Wrestler of the year

KIRKSVILLE – Makenna Cook of Kirksville won a state title at 182 pounds with a record of 51-1.

Cook is the 2012-13 Daily Express wrestler of the year.

“The season went by so fast it was like a blur. When I think back all I can really remember is my team and how proud of them I am. I feel like I did good as an individual but my team did better,” said Cook.

Cook is just a sophomore and has already wrestled in two state title matches in two different weight classes.

“Makenna was dominate all year. He won almost every match by pin. I was very pleased with his willingness to wrestle at a higher weight for the betterment of the team,” said Kirksville head coach Kevin Powell.

Although wrestling is can be an individual sport, Cook was very pleased with how his team came together after losing so much senior experience from the previous season.

“We became a family at the end of the season and I was really proud of close we became,” said Cook.

Cook was able to use the failures he had in practice, and the one loss of his season to help push him to work towards a state championship.

“I got taken down a lot in practice by some of our bigger guys and that helped me a lot. Then I got beat when we wrestled at Quincy Notre Dame and I feel like I didn’t wrestle my best match. That loss helped me realize that I can’t make it through the season without hard work and dedication. So I started to work even harder from that point on,” said Cook.

Cook represents the future of the KHS wrestling program that sent eight wrestlers to the state meet and only one a senior.

“Next year we are looking forward to having some young guys come up and help shake things up. This offseason I plan to work even harder than I did in the past and I want to push myself to my limits and try and win another state title next year,” said Cook.

Powell has won two team championships in his time as KHS head coach and knows about coaching state champs.

“He has a very aggressive style and barring any injuries or things like that I would expect him to have a couple more seasons like this one,” said Powell.